International relief officials have welcomed the agreement by India and Pakistan to open their heavily-militarized boundary in divided Kashmir to help survivors of this month's devastating earthquake.

The two governments say crossings will be opened at five points starting November 7 to allow people to cross in both directions on foot. Priority will go to families separated by the de facto border.

A U.N. humanitarian coordinator in the quake zone, Rashid Khalikov, called the agreement a good step that will help extend aid to people in isolated areas. But with a bitter Himalayan winter approaching and millions of people homeless or needing shelter, aid workers fear hunger, disease, diarrhea and injuries that are not treated could kill thousands more.

Some 200,000 people are still without any humanitarian aid three weeks after the quake that killed about 55,000 people, most of them in Pakistani Kashmir.